Monday, September 28, 2009

You've probably all had some Thom Yorke sightings by now (anybody see him at the Roosevelt or Edendale?). And you've probably heard the rumors about secret shows. Finally some official news to report. Yorke will be playing two shows shows at the Orpheum Theatre. His band will feature Nigel Godrich, Flea, Joey Waronker and Mauro Refosco. Expect new material and stuff from Eraser. Lucky Dragons open the shows.

The live music highlight of last week was seeing Ross Flournoy at the Little Room at Largo. That's a great little spot to see music. With the future of the Broken West in doubt, it was great to see him perform a couple of new songs along with some Broken West classics.

Sunday, September 06, 2009

I started last week out with Henry Clay People and Local Natives. The crowd starting lining up as early as I've seen since the days when Elliott Smith used to play the club. The Henry Clay People set reminded me why I liked them so much in the first place - no guest appearances or costumes and very few cover songs - just a tight, fun, unpretentious rock 'n' roll band. Local Natives blend of Fleet Foxes-style harmonies and Vampire Weekend-esque jams make them seem like a safe bet for commercial success.

Also at Spaceland was Division Day's record release party on Wednesday night. After a prolonged absence from playing live shows, the band successfully pulled off the new material. It was great to see those guys on stage again.

Thursday 9/10/09[Pick of the Week] Cass McCombs / Girls / John Webster Johns @ Bootleg Theater ($13) - Should be a busy night at the Bootleg (this is where the Pitchfork generation will be). Cass McCombs is a bit of dark singer-songwriter who recently got "Best New Music" from Pitchfork. Girls debut album comes out 9/22 on True Panther/Matador. Their first single "Lust for Life" got a ton of praise. The album's a little bit inconsistent, but there are a few highlights. Kind of like early, lo-fi Elvis Costello. There's a nice pop sensibility to it.[Recommended] Outrageous Cherry / The Tyde / Asteroid #4 / Devon Williams @ Spaceland ($8) - Good lineup from top to bottom for retro-minded psych pop fans.[Recommended] Film Screening: Let Them Know - The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO @ Ricardo Montalban Theater ($17) - Documentary on the early LA punk scene followed by a concert with 7 Seconds, Youth Brigade and Swingin' Utters - Buy tickets HERE and Trailer HERE[Recommended] Clem Snide @ Hotel Cafe - They'll be at Pappy and Harriet's this weekend with Cracker & Camper Van Beethoven.[Recommended] Nine Inch Nails / Io Echo @ the Wiltern (Sold Out) - Another rescheduled show.

Here's a reminder to point your internet browsers to LittleRadio.com today from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM for the Sinking Radio show. They'll once again be broadcasting live from Cole's in downtown Los Angeles.

My pick for this week's show is, "Pedlar," the shortest song off of Polvo's excellent new album, In Prism. I've been a Polvo since the early college days. They've always had a distinct, interesting, immediately recognizable guitar sound that put them in the upper tier of 90s indie rock bands. I spent a ridiculous amount of time listening to Polvo and their contemporaries (Slint and June of 44).

While nothing on In Prism had quite the same impact that "Vibracobra" did the first time I heard it, this is Polvo's most consistent record ever. Very impressive when you consider they haven't releasd an album in 12 years.